The Valdosta Daily Times — Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) announced Monday that he will seek another term in the United States Congress and will not make a run for Georgia governor.
Considered a likely candidate by many in the state, Kingston made the decision to remain in Congress following the announcement by Georgia Sen. Eric Johnson that he will seek the governor’s seat now that Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has withdrawn from the race for health reasons.
“There was a full slate until Casey backed off, and then everyone began looking at all of the candidates brand new,” Kingston said in an interview Monday.
“A lot of people had been asking me if I was going to run, but when Eric (Johnson) announced, I decided not to make the run.”
Kingston said Johnson is his son’s godfather and as a fellow Savannahian, he knows Johnson will represent the interests of South Georgia as well as he could himself.
“He was running for lieutenant governor, so it was natural for him to slip into the gubernatorial race. I enjoy Congress and I hated to leave anyhow to do it, but I think if he wins, we’ll have a good South Georgian in there.”
Kingston said if some of the other candidates, such as Karen Handel, John Oxendine, or Roy Barnes gets into office, the Atlantans won’t focus as much on the rest of the state.
“They wouldn’t discuss South Georgia, agriculture wouldn’t get discussed, and they don’t really understand the importance of the military outside Atlanta and how devastating it would be to other communities in the state if something happened to those bases.”
Kingston said he has not officially endorsed Johnson at this time, but he is supporting him and stated he will assist him in getting around to other parts of the state when he begins his campaign.
Johnson serves as the president pro tempore of the state senate, and as such his duties include chairing the Administrative Affairs Committee. He serves as co-chairman of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee and as vice chairman of the Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee. He is also a member of the Appropriations, Assignments, Ethics, Finance, Natural Resources and the Environment and Rules committees.
Kingston is currently in his ninth term serving the State of Georgia in Congress representing the First District. He is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and serves as the ranking member of the Agriculture Subcommittee and is a member of the Defense Subcommittee.
Local News
Kingston opts out of gubernatorial race
- Local News
-
-
From the CIA to man about town
Meet Jack Pruden, former member of the Central Intelligence Agency.
-
Berrien school medical facility faces an uncertain future
A state-of-the-art medical facility that was introduced in Berrien County public schools in 2010 might be ending soon.
-
New TV listings section debuts in print edition
In Sunday editions of The Valdosta Daily Times, keep an eye out for the updated TV listings section.
-
Man shot in Valdosta; police car, ambulance collide
Response to a shooting Saturday afternoon led to a collision between a police vehicle and an ambulance.
-
Annual Father-Daughter Dance enters 16th year
Three-week-old Emmaline Taylor lay contentedly on dad Trey Taylor’s shoulder Friday night, completely oblivious to the sights and sounds of the Father-Daughter Valentine Dance.
Now in its 16th year, the popular annual event is sponsored by Valdosta’s First Presbyterian Church and held at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center.
“We’ve been looking forward to this,” Trey Taylor said. “When we first got pregnant, (my wife Sheya and I) looked to see if she would be here in time for the Father-Daughter Dance.” -
VPD offers online citation payment
The Valdosta Police Department has implemented a new online service to assist traffic violators.
-
School system grades policy gets national exposure
Local radio personality Scott James of Talk 92.1 will be appearing on “Fox & Friends” today at 7:45 a.m. to share feedback about the new grading policy implemented by the Lowndes County School System.
-
Don Giovanni: VSU presents Mozart’s most famous opera
VALDOSTA — Editing Mozart isn’t for sissies.
It takes a certain knowledge, talent and sheer chutzpah to perform surgery on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Alas, in our age of short-attention spans, it is a challenge which many opera productions must consider, given that many of Mozart’s originals stretched as long as four hours. -
Traffic Unit coming to Hahira
HAHIRA — The Hahira City Council voted to allow the addition of a Traffic Enforcement Unit to the Hahira Police Department at Thursday night’s regular session council meeting.
The Traffic Enforcement Unit will patrol two miles of Interstate 75 and according to Hahira Police Chief Terry Davis, has nothing to do with making money and everything to do with the safety of Hahira’s citizens. -
Life’s a Drag
Theatre Guild Valdosta unleashes some of its leading players this week to star in its newest comedy, “Leading Ladies.”
- More Local News Headlines
-






